What if?
by Malinara
Summary: What if Harm and Mac attended normal university?
1. Chapter 1

Mac was watching the notice board; it appeared the huskies had a big game coming against Stanford. She hoped they'd win, just to see Harmon Rabb smile…but mostly she hoped he didn't get hurt like he did last time, he broke his arm and his lips were bleeding at the end of the last game. And it broke her heart, anyway, he had Renee Peterson as a nurse – she surely made him feel better.

She was lost in the bitter thought when her best friend, Harriet approached her.

"Hey, there you are! I thought Harmon Rabb came for you and you eloped together" she teased seeing her friend staring at the picture of the handsome football player.

"Harriet…the chance of that happening is less than 0 per million, I'm not part of the 'The circle of popular people' and he has the cheerleader to cheer him up, besides, I would never fall for anybody like him!" she said as they headed to the dormitories.

"Yes, say it like you mean it!" Harriet giggled.

"I do! Why don't you tell me about what's going on between you and Bud Roberts…did he finish the game he was programming?"

"Yes! He's a genius and pretty funny for a computer geek. Oh, ad he asked me to go with him to Boston when we graduate!! I can't believe this is our last year!"

"Harriet that's so sweet!! I can already see you with a big house and a dozen children…as for this being our last year, it is true, but we'll still be close right?"

"Always." they hugged and went upstairs to finally catch some sleep

"You know, maybe you should make a move on Harmon Rabb…"Harriet said as they changed into their PJs

"And steal him from the princess of short skirts and painted nails. No way. Besides I told you I don't like him. He's a snob and so is Renee, they deserve each other. We'll never see each other again once we graduate, thank god, because he'll be a lawyer and I'll be a Biologist."

Harriet just sighed, it was a pity that her friend gave up on love like that, she knew Harmon Rabb liked Sarah by the way in which he stared at her when he thought nobody was looking. Which was difficult because that bitch of a Renee would be all over him every chance she'd get. Damn.

It was true, Harmon Rabb was the top of his class and the football team captain, not to mention very cute but he was a nice person all in all. Keeter and Pendry were always with their head in the clouds but he was quite down to earth.

He and Sarah were perfect for each other. Why couldn't they see it?"

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Next morning Mac and Harriet decided to head to the hall in the morning to study for the tests they had to do the next day. The circle of popular people, which consisted of the players and their girlfriends, most of them cheerleaders; were sitting at their usual place.

Renee was having a conversation with Annie about the nail beds when she saw Sarah and Harriet arriving. Her relationship with Harm was going to shreds soon and it was all because of that bratty big-boobed biologist, she was sure; she had caught Harm staring at her in awe several times. She didn't know what he saw in her, she rarely wore a skirt, always with the jeans…and she hated the blouses and turtlenecks she wore…how medieval!

Suddenly an evil gleam glinted in her eyes and when Annie stopped talking and gave her a questioning look she just whispered 'watch this' when Harriet and Sarah were close enough, she hopped down from the table and bellowed. "Hey biologist! Having a nerdy day? You know there are other clothes besides charity bazaar …uh, items…oh, I'm sorry maybe your drunken daddy was too busy to get you something decent! She laughed along with her cheerleader posse.

Sarah turned around and looked at her, square in the eye, "You know Renee, there are other clothes beside see through fishnets my grandpa used when he went fishing." With that she went out, running to the toilets as tears ran down her face with Harriet following her.

She never talked to her, why did she humiliate her like that in front of everyone?

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Harm and Renee were in his corvette, arguing; which was all they were doing lately.

"You know, that was down right mean what you said to Sarah today…I know you don't like her - but for god's sake Renee!!"

"Ah so you know her name! Since when? Tell me Harm, how long have you been doing it behind my back with the big-boobed biologist?!"

"You're just jealous of her because she has some curves unlike you, and just for your information I never cheated."

"Yeah right…tell me Harm, how much do you pay her? Or do you post them directly to her father for beers?"

"That really was THE LAST STRAW! Get the hell outta here and we're finished!"

She got out of the car but before she slammed the car door she shouted: "YOUR LOSS HARMON RABB! GO TO YOUR WHORE!"

Harm felt free, finally. Damn, he had to do research today…oh well…he'd go tomorrow evening when no one would be there.

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Next morning, Mac woke up her eyes still a bit puffy from spending the night crying. It wasn't fair when someone got judged because of a family member and humiliated because she didn't feel comfortable in skirts which hardly covered her backside in front of the person she, though she didn't give it permission, her heart belonged to.

Oh well, today she had the Biology test. She hoped it would go well because she needed to work on that research since she had spent all her time studying for the test. She'd go in the evening when no one would be there.

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Let me know what you think =)


	2. Chapter 2

Adding the last book to the pile, Mac decided the 8 thick books were enough for to today, somehow she managed to carry them – the only problem was they were so big she couldn't see were she was going but everything was going smooth…until she bumped into something hard and fell, sending all the books flying around her.

"I'm so sorry…are you hurt?" Oh damn, she just bumped into Harmon Rabb! There he was, looking all concerned and flustered and so sweet.

He touched her shoulder when he saw her staring at him and not talking, outside was already dark and the lamps gave her face a very nice glow, her soft big eyes were sparkling. "Sarah, are you ok?"

Sarah snapped from her reverie "Uh, yeah, I'm sorry. I didn't know where I was going. So it was either you or something else…"she chuckled as he rearranged her books.

He stood up and offered his hand to help her up, smiling, she accepted it but as soon as she tried to get up, pain seared through her ankle.

"AH!" her face twisted in pain and Harm quickly gathered her in his arms so she would not fall again.

"What's wrong?"

"I think my ankle didn't agree with my fall, god it hurts…" she hissed in pain.

"It's ok, let's go to the infirmary. I hope someone is still there…"

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The infirmary was luckily open but as Harm had thought there was no one. He laid Sarah on the stretcher and adjusted it so she could sit up.

"It's not broken is it?" she asked wearily.

"No it's just twisted." He pulled out a pack of ice from the freezer and gently put it against her swollen ankle.

There was an awkward silence, as if they feared the other knew his feelings. Their attraction was so obvious but neither of them wanted to mess up this special thing so Harm decided to be brave and take the first step and to get to know her better.

"I've seen you around but we never really talked… strange, isn't it?" he said, smiling that adorable smile of his.

"Yeah but we're in completely different courses and different groups of people so…" she finished with a small smile, noticing he hadn't stopped holding her hand.

"Yeah…- by the way, what Renee did to you last time was damn mean and I hate her for that."

Tears filled her big brown eyes and Harm was kicking himself. Why the hell did he have to mention what happened that morning knowing how sensitive the topic of family was for her?! Damn it.

On the other hand Sarah was mad at herself. She was a strong woman and her tears were unauthorized, she didn't want to cry…well at least this brought his strong, gentle arms around her. She felt so safe, suddenly, everything was right in the world and nothing could hurt her anymore. She put her hands on his chest and buried her face in his neck, not knowing that he was enjoying this as much as she was, she felt so small and soft in that sweater he didn't want to let her go. He wanted to protect her.

"I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have brought that up…"

"No that's ok. I don't know what came into me anyway."

"The fishnet comment was funny though if that helps any. After the first lesson, she found a trawler drawn on her locker, the sight was priceless!" he chuckled, glad he could make her smile. She had a beautiful smile.

"You have any plans for Christmas?" he said, taking her mind off the topic.

"No" she replied sadly "Uncle Matt will be in Iraq and I certainly won't go home to my father. Maybe I'll just stay here...and wouldn't Renee have a fit hearing you say these things?" she laughed.

"Well, no, she and I are history. Have been a long time if you ask me, but anyway, I won't let you spend Christmas here. Why don't you come with me to La Jolla, my parents live there and my mom loves guests. Besides, it will probably be my parents aunts and uncles and I'll feel like a fish out of the water with all those elder." He winked, before giving her that pleading look nobody could resist.

"Um…but we hardly know each other, and I don't want to intrude."

"Maybe we can work on getting to know each other and I certainly wouldn't have asked you if you were intruding. Please?"

"All right, counsellor!" she giggled.


	3. Chapter 3

Next morning found Harm spooned against his favourite girl, she was so sweet and it was still early so he decided to spend some time watching her, smelling the vanilla shampoo in her hair and just cuddling her as he held her close.

But soon the time came to wake her up because god knows what would happen if they found them together here. He nuzzled her soft cheek and whispered softly in her ear "Sarah, wake up honey. Time to rise and shine…come on wake up honey…"

Sarah thought she'd died and gone to heaven. She woke up feeling safe in Harmon Rabb's arm as he whispered in her ear; she turned a bit to face him and met those clear blue-green eyes watching her in awe.

"Good morning sunshine…" he grinned.

"You too…" she smiled before rubbing her sleep from her eyes.

"I know that all we did was sleeping but god knows what would happen if they found us here and I didn't want you to get in trouble because of me…" he rubbed his nose against hers "And you ankle should be fine by now."

Sarah stood on her feet. It was true…her ankle was fine. "Yeah thanks…Uh, Harm…what will we tell the others?"

"That we were doing research and we fell asleep…no need to know where!" he winked "Why don't you meet me this afternoon…it's supposed to be a nice day and I wanted to give my 'vette a run. What do you say?"

"Alright" she smiled shyly "1.30 okay?"

"Yeah…meet me in the parking lot."

"okay…and Harm, thank you." She kissed his cheek before running to the dormitories, leaving a dazed Harmon Rabb in her wake.

"You're welcome…"

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Next day Mac found Harm waiting for her leaning against his red corvette, he was wearing faded jeans, a black shirt and his leather jacket along with aviator glasses. He was so handsome…

"Hey, right on time" he smiled, opening the car door for her.

"I'm always on time" she winked. She almost fainted when she saw him wearing that jacket.

They were walking by the lake, the air was quite chilly but contrary to Sarah; Harm wasn't a person who got cold easily and holding her hands to keep them warm was his pleasure. As they talked, they discovered that they had a lot of things in common; in different ways-they both lacked a father figure, both wanted good careers but most of all…they also wanted to find true, eternal love.

Harm spent a lot of time staring at her in awe and listening to her, for him the world around them faded. It was just her and her honey sweet voice. She was so beautiful and had suffered so much...were her father in front of him; he would have certainly decked him and the more she talked the greater his attraction for her became.

He called his mother that morning to tell her about Sarah, she said she already like her…unlike Renee, who even though she'd never met her in person she nicknamed her 'snobbish doll'. She had seen her once at a game and her stomach made a funny turn when she laid eyes on her, and the lady _always_ gave someone a chance but Renee was just sick and full of makeup. But when he told her about Sarah's past, Trish already felt her heart open for this girl…life was so hard on her, she'd make sure Sarah had a nice Christmas this year, and if her mother instinct was right, Sarah might me the girl who stole her son's heart.

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Christmas was soon coming and Washington was covered in white, everyone calling his relatives and cheerfully packing, happy to finally get a break from the studies. Christmas was never a happy time for Mac but maybe this year…

"So, how does eloping with our football captain for Christmas feel like Mac?" giggled Harriet as they got their luggages ready.

"We're not eloping and we're just friends. I'm just spending Christmas with him and his family…where are you spending them?"

"With my family of course! Bud promised me he'd call me everyday though, maybe we'll go skiing since he won't be too far!!" Harriet chirped happily.

"That's nice…guess I'd better hit the shower before we go" winked Sarah playfully

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On the flight to California, Harm and Mac kept talking, Harm told her about his father and how missed him, that he would've been a pilot himself weren't for his night blindness and even though his stepfather loved him like he was his own, he didn't accept him at first. Though now, even if he never called him 'dad', but at least he talked to him like a friend and not someone who was trying to steal his father's place.

Mac held his hand the whole time and wiped the lone tears from his face. They slept the flight away with Mac's head on his chest, the airhostesses oohed and aahed over them, and they even covered them in a blanket and took pictures of them. They were so cute!!

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Reviews are like chocolate - they make you happy ^-^ so the more you give me, the sooner I'll update =) deal?


	4. Chapter 4

Sarah slept through the ride home and Harm couldn't help glancing at her every now and then. She was so damn pretty…her chocolate eyes mirrored her feelings and those lips were so soft, he barely felt them when she kissed his cheek – why did she have to be so darn cute?! Even when she eats, which was a lot, the way she nibbled on food made him want to kiss her and hold her forever.

As soon as Harm's car entered the drive in, Trish went out to welcome her son and Sarah but before she opened her mouth he put his finger to his lips to silence her, at first she didn't understand but when she saw the beautiful girl sleeping in the passenger's seat, she couldn't help grinning, Harm was right, Sarah really was beautiful.

Harm removed his seatbelt and did the same for Sarah before squeezing her arm gently "Wake up Sarah, we're here" but she just stirred and went back to sleep so he decided to try a different tactic. He put his lips to her cheek and whispered "Sarah wake up. Time to rise and shine beautiful." He knew it was daring but it worked! And besides, he got to see that Sarah-smile which made him want to kiss her.

"Hey… I'm sorry I fell asleep…"she said with that sweet, sleepy voice.

"No problem, lots of people get tired after being on a phone" he smiled. But then her facial expression change, she was nervous about his mother, she was never fancy, what if she didn't belong?

Harm lifted her chin "Hey…my mother already likes you; she can't wait to meet you. Besides I'll be there… it'll be okay." He grinned, earning a small smile from his favourite girl.

He opened the door and was greeted by his mother. "Harmon!" Trish hugged her son tight, she missed him so much when he was away "how are you?" she pulled away to take a good look at him, happy tears shining in her eyes.

"I'm fine mom," he grinned "where's Frank?"

"He's on the phone with a client…"that's when she noticed the pretty girl watching them shyly as she leaned against the car.

Harm smiled as she approached them, "Mom this is Sarah, Sarah; this is my mom."

Sarah offered her hand to Trish "Nice meeting you " there was something about the lady…she was so poised, she didn't seem snob though.

But as soon as she saw Sarah, Trish felt a certain warmth towards the girl, somehow she saw all the suffering this girl had gone through in those big brown eyes. She couldn't help pulling her in her arms and hug her, she never had a daughter and although she wouldn't trade her son for the world, she wished she and Harm Sr. had also a daughter to pamper, talk and go shopping with. She hoped Sarah would be Harm's girl soon so she could adopt her as her daughter.

Mac was at first surprised when Trish hugged her, though she relaxed after a bit and enjoy the warmth of a mother she didn't have.

"Call me Trish, darling" she pulled back and turned to her grinning son.

"You have a surprise inside dear, Sarah's tired, and you'll surely have time to lie down before dinner."

She ushered Mac inside and Harm went to get their luggage.

As she entered the house Mac almost gasped, this house was enormous and beautiful and family warmth and family warmth almost radiated from the walls which were decorated with several frames. The furniture appeared to be very expensive and so did the comfortable looking sofa on which and old woman was sitting on.

The kind-looking old woman was thankfully smiling at a man about Trish's age who had just given her a cup of coffee.

Trish led Sarah towards them and they smiled at her "Frank, Grams…this is Sarah, Harm's friend from university. Sarah, this is Frank my husband and Sarah, Harm's grandmother…"

Frank shook her hand and smiled "Nice to meet you Sarah,"

Grams though reacted just like Trish and hugged her, surprising Sarah for the second time "Call me Grams sweetie" grandma Sarah grinned as she hugged the younger Sarah. Trish had talked to her about this girl, she was very angry about how her parents treated their daughter … how she could read all the suffering in those big brown eyes.

She and Trish vowed to make this Christmas better for 'little Sarah' as they nicknamed her between them.

Frank showed Sarah her room and left her to rest. His wife told him about the story of this girl and he had to say, she was very strong…this girl had something in her which made you like her as soon as you lay eyes on her. With this thought, he went to welcome Harm's cousin, James along with his fiancé, Mel who was also a nice girl…she and Mac would certainly get on well.

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Sarah was sleeping when she heard someone knocking.

"Come in" she sat up in bed.

Harm opened the door and went to sit on the bed side and took her hand in his, it was so small…"Hey, you've been sleeping for quite a while, are you ok?"

"Yes, travelling tends to do that to me." She smiled timidly; he so wanted to kiss her….

"All right, then you can come down, dinner is ready." He squeezed her hand gently before he left the room.

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When she entered the dining room with Harm, she never thought she'd find eight people around the table watching her, oh god, here goes nothing…

"Everyone, this is Sarah, a friend of mine from university. Sarah, this is my cousin James and his fiancée Mel" James was as tall as Harm, his eyes were brown but his hair was blonde. Mel had long black hair and striking green eyes and was as tall as much as Mac.

"My uncle Tim, mom's brother and his wife Jane." Tim was blond like Trish and his face had a certain kindness to it and Jane's smile made her dark eyes shine.

"Last but not least, Margaret. Mom's sister." Unlike the others, Margaret had certain coldness about her. Her auburn hair was tied in a bun and Mac almost felt her staring her down with her icy green eyes. Margaret never smiled.

Mac sat between Harm and Melanie and Harm with Trish and Grams sitting across her, the conversation was animated but Mac didn't speak much and Melanie noticed it. She was quiet too when she had her first dinner with James' family.

"So Sarah, are you studying to be lawyer like harm?" she asked smiling.

"No, I'm a biologist." Mac smiled back, she liked Mel.

"That's interesting! Tell me more about you." She grinned.

"Well, I speak Farsi and German and I love Palaeontology. Me uncle and I like to search for dinosaur tracks every other year."

Hearing this, Frank looked at Sarah and smiled "You like Palaeontology as well?"

At her nod started the long conversation about dinosaurs.

James, who was sitting beside Harm whispered "Man! You never told me you girlfriend was a genius!"

"She's not my girlfriend. Yet. And I didn't know about this before. She's all mysteries…" Harm said in awe, lost in his 'Harm-Sarah dream world'

James smiled knowingly. It wouldn't be long 'till his cousin was engaged too!

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I know I haven't posted in a while but I'm currently under exams to enter collage….maybe if you give me lots of reviews, I'll post the next chapter sooner than next week-end*grins* ^-^


	5. Chapter 5

After dinner, they all gathered in the living room. The elder made themselves comfortable on the sofa and armchairs while Harm, Sarah, Mel and James sat on the tick carpet; Mel was reclined against James chest while Sarah sat beside Harm with her head on his shoulder and one arm around her shoulders. Sarah felt so cosy and comfortable with Harm drawing lazy circles on her arm that she fell asleep, when everyone went to bed he carried her upstairs and put her to bed and with a kiss on her forehead he left her to her little world of dreams.

Next morning Mac woke up early, she went down to the kitchen to find grams, Trish and Margaret there; preparing breakfast for everyone…no wonder the good smell. Grams was a genius in the kitchen.

"Good morning dear!" Trish greeted as she offered her a mug of coffee.

"Good morning…" she smiled embarrassingly "I'm sorry I fell asleep on you yesterday"

"Oh that's okay, you and Mel were both jetlagged honey." Trish put a hand on her arm. "You should see me when we visit Harm's grandmother..." she said chuckling, making the younger girl feel more at ease.

"Can I help with something?"

"You can help me make pie if you want!" smiled grams, since Harmon Rabb senior died, this was the only person who managed to make her grandson smile.

"Sure!" grinned Mac, already washing her hands.

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Grams noticed the ease Sarah had as she made the pastry and so did Margaret.

"You know how to cook Sarah?" Margaret asked sipping her tea.

"Not really but I've seen my grandma cook many times and sometimes I even helped her, though she usually cooked different dishes..."

"Was your grandma a foreigner?"

"She was Iranian" smiled Sarah, watching the older lady with fascination as she made some marmalade. "I can make a copy of her recipe book for you if you want"

"Sure! Thank you… you're a very nice girl Sarah."

"You're welcome."

No one noticed the disgust in Margaret's look toward Sarah.

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During breakfast, plans were made and part of it was that they were all going to attend a charity ball on Christmas eve…of course the girls decided to take advantage and go shopping for a dress.

"Oh man…Mel, please no – please!! Harm have you ever went shopping with a girl? It's traumatizing." James' eyes were wide.

Mel punched his arm "Not true! You just don't know how fun shopping really is; it should be used for therapy! Right Mac?"

"Couldn't be more right than that!"

'Damn her smile could put the damn sun to shame...' thought Harm; he'd do shopping with her for a month just to keep her smiling like that.

"Well then you better start preparing, the malls will be full in no time. I think you'll enjoy yourself Sarah, the atmosphere there is incredible" said grams before taking a bit of her toast.

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Mel and Mac were enjoying their shopping trip very much while the boys were having a workout holding all the bags, when Harm insisted that he'd carry Mac's bags he didn't what he'd gotten himself into…on the other hand, his grams and mother would take turns beating him up if they discovered he let Sarah deal with the bags! Not that he would let that beautiful creature carry something that heavy….Anyway, seeing her laugh, smile and enjoying the Christmas-y atmosphere was more than worth it. While James and Mel had gone to see what they were going to buy for their parents, Harm surprised Sarah by putting a warm small apple pie in front of her.

"Mm…this smells nice…" she said smiling at him.

"I couldn't leave here without letting you taste Belle's apple pie…grams says it's the best in the area and I believe her. Belle is a friend of hers and grams still doesn't know how she makes the pie so damn tasty!" chuckled Harm, seeing her nibbling with gusto, she was cute when she nibbled.

Mac looked at him and he stopped chuckling, it was as though she wanted to kiss him but was too scared, so he decided to take the leap. He placed his lips on her apple tasting ones… damn; this was the best way to taste pie. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pie still in hand. This man was a damn good kisser, maybe this was a dream from which she'd wake up from hearing the sound of her alarm clock

"About damn time you two!!" squealed Mel as ran to hug them.

"I told ya it won't be long!" grinned James as he high-fived his cousin who's grin lit up the place.


	6. Chapter 6

Harm was in his room reading a book about human rights when heard a knock on his door, after placing the bookmark in the book, he opened the door.

"Aunt Maragaret!" he said uncomfortably

"Hello dear" she said, entering the room without waiting to be invited "I have to talk to you about something… Mac, Sarah or whatever her name is - she's a joke right?"

Harm glared at her "What do you mean a joke?"

"You wouldn't be with someone as stupid as her would you? I mean, babbling about an Iranian grandma who cooks god knows what…and her father then – a DRUNK!! I mean…"

Sarah who was coming to see if Harm wanted to have a bit of hot chocolate with her burst into sobs and she ran to her room to pack.

"HOW DARE YOU?!" Harm yelled making her face pale with fear, no saw Harm this angry "You dumb, superficial, cruel , vile old sack of –"

"Harmon, what's wrong?" Harm's mother was at the door, a worried expression on her face.

"Apparently she thinks Sarah is not worth it, that we shouldn't be together that she's better than her… and then she started to say horrible things about Sarah and her family. WELL SHE'D DAMN BETTER GIVE UP!" he yelled before going up to see Sarah, only she could make him feel better.

Only when he knocked, no one answered and the room was empty…oh god… she heard everything…

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Sarah was freezing she didn't know California was this cold at night, her tears were like a river. She should've known she wouldn't belong with him, it was too good to be true. People like her don't fit in that world full of money and luxuries.

She was too lost in her thoughts to realize that she was in the middle of the road or that a car was going to go right through her if she didn't run…she didn't even hear the horn.

"MAAC!" suddenly she felt someone pull her to him.

The driver honked a couple of times and yelled some colourful words and kept going.

Mac looked up to see who saved her life, her brown eyes met a blue-green pair.

"Harm…"

"Yes Sarah, me. I'm sorry you had to hear all that garbage but believe me when I say that I defended you and mom is probably kicking aunt Mag's ass out the door…my family loves you…I love you and you're the only one for me."

Mac snuggled up to him as Harm placed small kisses on her head whispering 'I love you' with every kiss.

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6 years later

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"Mommy where's Daddy?" the blue eyed, 3 year old boy asked his mother was resting with him on the sofa.

"He went with grandpa to bring us a Christmas tree so we can decorate it together." She smiled at her son who looked just like his daddy.

"Okay… mommy where are the decorations?"

"I'm going to get them right now, sweetie." Mac got up and stretched her arms and looked at the picture on the fireplace which was keeping the cosy living room warm. The picture was of her and Harm at their graduation, the same day she told him she was pregnant with their son and smiled, she finally had the life she wanted.

The end.


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